New Here..

[Beccc]

Hi there, I am posting from Australia.. Don't know that much about Celiac really and ahh where do I start!! I'm 24 years old and female..since January this year I have been suffering from gastrointestinal problems.. Severe bloating and severe foul gas (embarassing to say but true and the main symptom...) and fat malabsorption.. At the same time my sister (3 years older than me!) had been having bad stomach pains and had the blood test for Celiac which turned out to be "positive but not very high"??? I was referred to a Gastroenterologist by my usual doctor and he gave me the celiac blood test also.. however he also said the same thing about the levels not being "that high" and had me go get a barium meal to check for diverticular disease as I had higher than normal folate levels. The barium meal came back with nothing and I now have to go and have a gastroscopy for celiac.. However I have been having probiotics lately and my symptoms have somewhat improved.. So now i'm not sure what it is!! What are your thoughts.. I would GREATLY appreciate any help

[jnclelland]

Hi there, I am posting from Australia.. Don't know that much about Celiac really and ahh where do I start!! I'm 24 years old and female..since January this year I have been suffering from gastrointestinal problems.. Severe bloating and severe foul gas (embarassing to say but true and the main symptom...) and fat malabsorption.. At the same time my sister (3 years older than me!) had been having bad stomach pains and had the blood test for Celiac which turned out to be "positive but not very high"??? I was referred to a Gastroenterologist by my usual doctor and he gave me the celiac blood test also.. however he also said the same thing about the levels not being "that high" and had me go get a barium meal to check for diverticular disease as I had higher than normal folate levels. The barium meal came back with nothing and I now have to go and have a gastroscopy for celiac.. However I have been having probiotics lately and my symptoms have somewhat improved.. So now i'm not sure what it is!! What are your thoughts.. I would GREATLY appreciate any help

"Positive but not very high" is still positive! And while there are plenty of false negatives, the consensus is that there are NO false positives on these tests. If you want further testing (e.g., a biopsy), then you should continue eating gluten until the tests are done, but ultimately you should go gluten-free.

Good luck, and stick around; there's a TON of experience and great information in this group!

Jeanne